Many on-line service providers seek to provide users with a feature by which the users can place telephone calls from their computer devices, using the computer devices as the equivalent of telephone handsets. Rather than supporting this pc-to-phone functionality directly, an on-line service provider may instead rely on an outside vendor (i.e., a PBTSP) to support this service.
In one known implementation, all packet-based telephony calls initiated by users of an on-line service provider are automatically routed, by client software, directly to an outside PBTSP selected by the service provider. In essence, the on-line service provider represents a referral service for the outside vendor, referring all its users desiring packet-based telephony service to the outside vendor. This implementation suffers from certain disadvantages.
One disadvantage is that users are not provided input into the selection of their PBTSP. Thus, while other available PBTSPs may provide superior service, offer better pricing, etc., the users must nonetheless employ the outside vendor selected by the service provider, or forego the packet-based telephony service.
Another disadvantage relates to the relative inability of the on-line service provider to manage or control the telephony service provided to its users by the outside vendor. This can be particularly problematic where the outside vendor fails to provide users with an appropriate level of service, which may reflect poorly on the referring service provider, or where a contractual relationship between the service provider and the outside vendor terminates.
In view of the above, the inventors have recognized a need for a system which allows service providers to more effectively manage packet-based telephony services provided to their users by outside vendors, and a system which allows users to choose from among multiple PBTSPs.